Georgia Bulldogs: Tennessee

Just think, the next time you click on the SEC lunchtime links post it will be Monday of the first game week of the college football season. Ready or not, it's that time again.

Tennessee lost two defensive ends over the course of the preseason and spent much of the past week or so looking for their replacements. In 6-foot-5, 260-pound Jordan Williams, the Vols may have found their man to start.

Matt Elam was a playmaker and an All-American at safety for the Gators last year. Marcus Maye, his replacement, worked with Elam this offseason and has impressed coaches with his work ethic so far. With the season nearly underway, Maye hopes to be the same type of presence on defense as his predecessor.

Vanderbilt's seniors Kenny Ladler and Javon Marshall have so much familiarity with one another that they rarely need to speak. The Commodores are hoping that experience and comfort level pays off as the two form what could be a stellar safety net for the secondary.

Keihl Frazier surprised many when he dropped out of the quarterback race to start over in the Auburn secondary at safety. That move happened less than two weeks ago. And ready or not, he'll need to be ready to play just over a week from now when the Tigers host Washington State in their season opener.

Arie Kouandjio was starting at guard for all spring and most of preseason camp before an abrupt move to tackle last week. Austin Shepherd experienced the same thing, switched from tackle to guard in a position experiment by the Alabama coaching staff. Now, it appears that those experiments are over and the Tide can get to the job of establishing chemistry.

It's no secret that Florida expects a lot out of Ronald Powell, the former national high school player of the year. But two surgically repaired knees have made the defensive end/linebacker's ascension difficult. Can he make it to the season opener against Toledo? He says he's getting "closer and closer."

Kentucky's Avery Williamson doesn't like to disappoint. When he was in grade school he kicked a hole in the wall because he disappointed his parents. Since then, the decorated linebacker has done all he can, developing into a leader of the Wildcats defense.

Missouri cornerback E.J. Gaines is an integral part of the Tigers' defense. Unsure if he'll play in Thursday's scrimmage because of an injury, Gaines' status for the season opener has been in doubt. After Tuesday's practice he said he'll be ready to go.

The Mike Davis era is officially underway in Columbia, S.C., as the Gamecocks announced that he would start the season opener against North Carolina. But Brandon Wilds and Shon Carson will see plenty of time, too.

Tennessee's defense had a lot of work to do this offseason, rebuilding after a tough 2012 campaign. Though the Vols are on schedule, they're still not there yet.

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Peach State: Top Tier Recruiting Ground?

California, Florida and Texas are largely considered the "Big Three" in college football recruiting. But national recruiting analyst Gerry Hamilton joins ESPN's Phil Murphy to explain why Georgia deserves to be in the top tier and has numbers to prove it.